Your guide to all things prospect, courtesy of Jonathan Mayo

Josh Bell wants to go to Texas

MLB.com has confirmed that high school outfielder Josh Bell, considered one of the better high school bats in this year’s Draft class, has indeed sent a letter to the Major League Scouting Bureau informing the Bureau that he does not want to be drafted because he won’t sign and will honor his commitment to the University of Texas.

Report about the letter first came via Baseball America’s Conor Glassey via Twitter, a tweet that read “Heard that Dallas Jesuit OF Josh Bell sent a letter to the Scouting Bureau saying he doesn’t want to sign & wants to go to Texas.” Glassey followed it up with ablog post.

A source with knowledge of the letter confirmed that it was sent to the Scouting Bureau. When reached for reaction to the initial report, the Bureau would not comment..

There are two possible reasons for such a letter to be sent. The first is that Bell is being genuine and simply wants to inform teams that taking him would be a waste of a pick because he truly does want to go to college. The second reason, which is more cynical, is that the Scott Boras Corp. advised player sent the letter as a ploy to push him down to a team that would meet his asking price to sign him away from his Texas commitment.

In either case, it certainly thickens the plot of this year’s Draft. Bell is ranked No. 23 in MLB.com’s Top 50 Draft prospects. The switch-hitter would be a first-rounder based solely on talent.

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